The Mainstream Media’s “Standards” On Sex Scandal Featuring Al Gore

One of the most fascinating things about our unbiased, call ‘em as they see ‘em, right down the middle pals in the mainstream media is how often their completely neutral reporting seems to lead them to cover stories in wildly different ways depending on the political party of the people involved.

For example, how much hard evidence is there that Nikki Haley ever had an affair? There’s none. Yet, we’ve heard all about that story, haven’t we? Remember the New York Times story on John McCain’s “affair” with Vicki Iseman? They had zero evidence, but they ran with it.

On the other hand, when a Democrat’s involved, suddenly the MSM has the world’s strictest standards about making an allegation. Drudge made a name for himself by talking about the Monica Lewinsky story even though Newsweek had it first and chose to sit on the information. Remember the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter affair? Even though the mainstream media knew about it for months, it was the National Enquier that broke the story wide open because almost all of the big MSM outlets refused to cover it, investigate it, or discuss it publicly.

Portland’s Oregonian today printed a police report echoing a National Enquirer story that a masseuse accused Al Gore of sexual harassment in 2006.

The woman did not wind up pursuing her complaint, for reasons unclear. It’s also worth noting that the Portland Tribune had the story two years ago, and writes that it “chose at that time not to publish a story.”

UPDATE: Portland Tribune executive editor Mark Garber declined to discuss the story in detail, but did shed a bit more light on why his paper had chosen not to run with it, based on what he called “many of the test points that we would normally have to determine whether there was sufficient evidence that something inappropriate had occurred.”

“We weren’t able to meet our own test,” he said.

The paper also quoted a Gore spokeswoman, Kalee Krieder, saying, “Not only has there not been a settlement, we haven’t been approached about one nor can we imagine any basis for one.”

So, what do you think the chances are they’d have been able to “meet our own test” if they were alerted that Dick Cheney was accused to doing this:

He grabbed my right hand hard, shoved it down under the sheet to his pubic hair area, my fingers brushing against his penis and firmly planted my hand on his pubic crest region and said to me, ” There!” in a very sharp, loud, angry-sounding tone. This was all happening really fast as you can imagine.

…He angrily raged in accusatory and threatening confrontational he bellowed at me. Just scared the sh*t out of
me.

…He then tried another tactic as though he had very suddenly switched personalities and began in a pleading tone, pleading for release of his second chakra there. There’s so much tension being held. This was yet another euphemism for sexual activity he was requesting put cleverly as though it were a spiritual request or something. I was further deeply shocked and repulsed…

… And he came over to where I was while I was trying to pack up and then he wrapped me in an inescapable embrace as I turned around, giving me this ” come hither” look deep into myeyes and caressed my back and buttocks and breasts. I squirmed to try and get out of his grasp, telling him to stop, don’t, several times and I finally told him and said, You’re being a crazed sex poodle, hoping that he’d realize how weird he was being yet he persisted. He was much stronger than me, bigger than me and insistent.

…It was completely unnerving. And I realized that resistance was making him giggle and pursue more strongly. And I knew then that this resistance was a dangerous tactic to use if I wanted to avoid being raped.

…It was very clear to me that I was not the first woman he had sexually assaulted and that clearly ” no” was not a word
he heard or cared about or respected. I was intimidated by him physically because he is a very large man, about the same height as me, maybe a little tallerbut a lot heavier than I was and clearly much stronger and he had a dramatic display of violent temper as well as extremely dictatorial commanding attitude besides his Mr. Smiley Global Warming concern persona.

…In this struggle, my left leg and knee sustained injuries for which I have obtained medical care for several months afterwards. I tried to remain in seemingly outer good humor throughout this with still trying to convey to him somefirmness of not wanting to engage in sexual activity with him although….

I am going to leave the rest for you to read, but I will tell you this: This is scary, dangerous, and demented-sounding behavior: : –: : and for the Portland Tribune to know about this and not report it? It’s unconscionable.